Farmers Movement Archive

Farmers' protest: Punjabi pop enthuses agitators and castigates the central government

NEW DELHI: The speeches and announcements at Singhu border, where farmers are on protest against the new agricultural laws enacted by the central government recently, are frequently punctuated by blasts of Punjabi pop. These emanate from stereo speakers mounted on tractors driven by young farmers. It is their new way of invigorating their fellow protesters — with songs of protest. Singers like Babbu Maan, Gagan Wadali, Kanwar Grewal and others have added their unique flavour to the protests. While one tractor played Murrde ni laye bina haq, Dilliye by Harbhajan Mann, another had Wadali in Modi de prahuney asking the Prime Minister to prepare tea for the farmers who have come for their rights. The latter has become a hot favourite with the youthful protesters. Another favourite is Sarda bolda by superstar Babbu Maan. The song, released on YouTube only on December 3, has already garnered over two million views. Abhijeet Singh, a young farmer from Khalaur in Patiala district, said, “The purpose of playing these songs is to reignite the farmers. The hard-core lyrics excite the people. We go around on the tractors playing these songs loudly.” Alongside, him Manjeet added, “The lyrics aren’t abusive or violent, only reiterate our demands and our rights.” On another tractor, Garmeet Singh played R Nait’s Delhi-A, a line in it stating, “Oy Delhi-A Punjab naal pange theek nai.” This, Garmeet said, was a fun song that reminded farmers of their strength. He disclosed that in the past few weeks, Punjabi musicians had created many songs with the word ‘Delhi’ in them. He explained, “Delhi means the central government and how it is treating us. The whole of Punjab is behind this protest and the music connect is not accidental.” Singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh went a step ahead, arriving personally at the Singhu border on Saturday to show his support for the agitating land tillers. Saying that he had come only to listen and not to speak, Dosanjh said of the protesters, “We have only heard stories like this in our folk lore, but they have re-created history here.” Dosanjh, who was caught in a media storm after going on a tirade against actor Kangana Ranaut on Twitter, asked journalists “to show only farmers’ problems, not divert the issues”. He also requested the central government to kindly give the farmers “whatever they want because they are asking in peace and the whole country is with them”. Near the dais from where the singer spoke to the crowd, Thana Singh, 60, entertained his fellow demonstrators in his own way — with a Punjabi folk-style song filled with invectives against the Centre. The pop culture at the protest site is not only about music. Students of Delhi University have created a special space for posters. Rajveer Kaur, DU student and president of Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch, revealed, “We have been putting up posters here since December 3. These have been created by DU students and relate to the farmers’ agitation, labour law reforms and the National Education Policy, all black Acts enacted by the central government.”

The Times of India

2020-12-06

Delhi